Hi all
Quickly:
What is the plan for xmas this year re: presents and celebration?
For presents, we could do the amazon wish list again, celebration: Dad's?
love,
H
- posted by H @ 11/30/2005 10:04:00 AM

 
Hello all,
C, good time in NYC this Friday! Let me know how things turned/are turning out.
Dad, here are directions to Philly:

Take 76 East towards Philadelphia. Once you are close to Philly, what you are driving on will be come Highway 276, and you need to get off of that in order to stay on 76 E. This will be exit # 326 for 76 E (you will see signs for philly, valley forge). You will pay the toll for your turnpike trip shortly after getting off, and then you will follow 76 E all the way into the heart of philly. Once you see the art museum across the Schuylkill river on your left, and sky scrapers in front of you, you know you are getting close. Get off at the 30th St. Station exit, which will be a right hand exit. Pay close attention as things will get a little hectic here (tight road). When you get off at that exit, follow the road, as you run into the station and then are guided around it. your third light will be at Market (you will be on 30th st.). take a right at that light. Follow Market St. up the hill for 12 blocks, until you take a left onto 42nd. Take your first immediate left, which will be Ludlow St (which is a one way going east). you will see a school-type building on your left as you make the turn. the back of the school has a concrete parking area enclosed by a fence. my house is the first house on the left after that concrete area (#4111). Take a left into the drive way and I will come out to greet you!!! If I am picking up JP at the airport, I will leave the back door open so you can go and get comfy.
Quick recap:
76 E towards Philly
Exit #326 to 76 E philly, valley forge, etc.
76 E to 30th St. Station exit.
at third light, right onto Market.
left on 42nd
first immediate left onto Ludlow St.
house is first on left after school, # 4111.
I will call you on Sunday so that we can discuss food: need to know what you are bringing and what I should supplement. ALready got some nice smoked cheese, pepper sausage, chocolate covered cashews and a dozen eggs. PLUS, the all time favorite, egg nog.
Love,
H
- posted by H @ 11/19/2005 05:07:00 PM

 
dad, coming Thursday morning sounds good. I will make sure to email you directions before then. it is very easy to get here.
Let me know when other plans emerge.
love,
H
- posted by H @ 11/12/2005 03:18:00 PM

 
yikes, hydrogen. sounds kinda sweet though.

So I made reservations for us for Friday, November 25th at either 12 pm or 1 pm to go to the Barnes foundation, which is an art museum a little outside of philly. This is a private collection, you can find the website here .
It's apparently quite the wild place, with some world famous artists (Van Gogh, Gaugin, etc) represented. That's the only official thing planned so far. Otherwise I have planned some walking in Fairmount Park (JP, we've hiked there). There's an inn at the park that we can walk to (not to long walk, on flat) where "refreshments" can be taken to oneself.
There are other things your want to do, just let me know. Dad, you mentioned Liberty Bell action, which is definitely on the agenda. Am also looking into possible musical entertainment.
lv,
H
- posted by H @ 11/10/2005 04:28:00 PM

 
Ooooh..
Hydrogen-powered Mazda RX-8! Debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show!
"Next spring, the RX-8 RE powered by a hydrogen-fueled rotary engine will be available for lease."
A rotary engine!
Powered by hydrogen!
Very, very cool!

Congrats, H. Kick ass!
I'll be heading down your way Wed night or Thurs a.m., and am taking Friday off...

C
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 11/10/2005 12:06:00 PM

 
Hello all,

Just a quick note from me: got back from Indy very late last night because the airline lost our luggage again and we had to push back our flight and reschedule a bunch of people. Ah, yes, the Philadelphia Airport is said to be the worst run in teh business (at least here in the US) for luggage transfer. Lucky us.
Need to know as soon as possible plans for T-giving so that I can organize some fun activities. Just need to know arrival and departure dates and what not. I have Thursday and Friday off, so arrivals can happen Wednesday afternoon/evening (although beware Philly traffic, dad - would need to arrive either before 4 or after 6) or Thursday morning, afternoon.
I got my scores back from the GRE test I took in October (that I since took over again) and my analytical writing score was a 6, the highest you can get!!! that's the 98th percentile, as in only 2% of people who take the GRE get that score! I am hoping that this will be a small extra boost for my Penn application, as it will be obvious from my verbal score and writing that my grasp of these areas is good. I am taking an intro to calculus class in the spring so can add that to my application to spruce up my math score.
so that's all from my for now. Taking my Psychology GRE on Saturday and hoping that it goes well too. it's paper based though, so easier in my opinion.
love,
H
- posted by H @ 11/09/2005 09:41:00 AM

 
The rioting in France is in its 12th night... Plus, there was the first casualty today...
Crazy times, but perhaps not that surprising - the conditions in the ghettos around Paris seem to be pretty grim. Plus, the unemployment rate is around 33% for young people there.
Wretchard at the Belmont Club is looking at some of the rioters' tactics - some observers are speculating that the rioters are engaging in brinksmanship. Burning cars makes for a good show, but probably won't provoke the French cops into using lethal force. The rioters' tactics are pretty good - they apparently are using text messages on cell phones to coordinate, and engage in hit-and-run attacks, against a slow-moving opponent.
I don't think the U.S. population would be willing to save France for a third time in 100 years, if it comes to that... Hopefully it doesn't...

C
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 11/07/2005 05:56:00 PM

 
Woah. I haven't been in a blogging mood for the last month or so, I guess. But, I'm back!
Dad - you should be proud of yourself. I saw an article somewhere today that only 9% of adults write on a blog. You're on the cutting edge! Come to think of it, you've always been pretty good with new technology - the Commodore 64 for your sermons back in the 1980s, hybrid vehicle early-adopter, the blogging, etc. Congrats!
Not much going on here... I can be in Philly for Thanksgiving, if that is where we're having it... S has to work that night, so I'm free. H - We talked about it on the phone - I'm around on the 18th, so we can hang! Of course, you can sleep over, if you want.
JP - let us know what's up with the Borders possibilities... I really do like the story!

OK, there will be more from me in the future!
C
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 11/04/2005 03:33:00 PM

 
Dear Family,
it has been entirely too long since I have posted. And my last post was even some stupid 2 sentence thing that was totally forgetable.

Am at work right now, but things are relaxed and slow so I can write. Took my GREs yesterday morning, with a much better result than last time. Not quite as well as I would have hoped for, but no use dwelling on it now. All scores are out of 800. I got a 640 on my verbal and 650 on my math section. The writing section grades come in usually 3 weeks after the session, so I won't know those for a while. I am assuming that they are good because I thought my essays rocked. To put things into perspective, when I took the GREs on 10/22 I got a 660 on my verbal (a bit better than this time), but a 410 on my math because I ran out of time. so a 240 point jump is good. I am just so relieved to be done with the rotten things. My psychology subject test is Nov. 12th, but at this point that's all memorization and I can cram an entire intro to psych text book into my head from now until then. no sweat.

the weather has been nice in philly. Last night I took the dog for a walk, got some chinese food and then proceeded to drink copious amounts of red wine and hang out with gavin and my friend Radder. JP, we listened to "the pod" by ween and really got into it, if you know what I mean. it was just nice to relax without this GRE thing looming over my head.

Am going to Indy for work again next Monday and Tuesday, the thin women just keep on coming. am going again after Thanksgiving and easily 3-4 more times in December and January. What is the official plan for Thanksgiving, btw? Is it happening in Philly this year. The city without public transportation? I am sure you have all heard about this - it's a frightful mess with huge traffic jams all of the city and accidents everywhere due to the excess of cars. but that's the way this city is run, so we deal with it.

All for now. hope all is well. C, did you get my message about being in Manhatten 11/18?
Love,
H
- posted by H @ 11/04/2005 11:27:00 AM